ABSTRACT: RESEARCH EDUCATION CORE Disparities in health care based on race/ethnicity represent a mutable factor that costs the U.S. government billions of dollars annually. According to the National Academy of Science Board on Higher Education, Blacks, Latinos and Native American tribal people together represent approximately 25% of the nation's populations, yet they represent only 8% of the total science and engineering PhD recipients. The Florida-California Cancer Research, Education & Engagement (CaRE2) Health Equity Center, is a collaboration among Florida A&M University (FAMU, a minority serving institution {MSI}), University of Florida (UF) and University of Southern California (USC) that will advance cancer research to better meet the needs of Black and Latino communities. In response to the Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) U54 PAR, the CaRE2 Health Equity Center Research Education Core (REC) is proposed to meet the cancer research education needs of underrepresented minorities (URM) in Florida and California, especially Blacks and Latinos. The REC will: (1) support a 12-week early and focused exposure of 12 URM undergraduate students (?Summer-CaRE2 Cohorts?) at FAMU; (2) support the training of 24 URM post-bac students in a one-year mentored research and training program (?Postbac-CaRE2?); and (3) provide academic career development, mentorship, and tailored research training opportunities to increase the competitive research capacity for a total of 45 URM graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early-stage investigators (CaRE2-Grad+). Students from FAMU (one of the premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the US) will comprise the majority of undergraduate students. Post-baccalaureate trainees at each partner site will have a year-long immersion in research, working with multidisciplinary teams to build their knowledge of research and to promote their academic career paths in cancer-related health disparities. Graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and ESIs at each site will receive intensive mentoring, academic career development and tailored research training opportunities to promote their successful attainment of research-related and academic milestones. Program outcomes of the REC will be monitored under the guidance of the Planning and Evaluation Core. The Administrative Core will use data gathered via assessment activities to implement program changes as needed to promote the success of the trainees.